Apply For The NESG Startup Pitch Competition

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The 25th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES25) startup pitch competition is now open for entries. The competition is organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in partnership with Sterling Bank, Venture Garden Group and its startup investment/acceleration arm GreenHouse Capital.

It all started in 2017 when the NESG introduced a Startup Pitch Competition as part of the Annual Nigerian Economic Summit. The pitch competition created an avenue through which, young, innovative Nigerian startups could engage with the wide array of stakeholders drawn to NES.

Additionally, startups participating in the competition had the opportunity to win catalytic funding to help them scale their businesses. Beneficiaries over the years include Gerocare, Jand2Gidi, ColdHubs etc.

For the 25th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit, NESG seeks to make the Startup Pitch Competition bigger and better than ever, with the key strategic words being bold informative and entertaining.

The build-up to the startup pitching competition commenced in the first week of August 2019 and the engagement with startups is expected to occur in 4 phases: applications & selection, bootcamp & pitch prep, pitch competition, and ongoing mentorship.

The Start-ups Pitching Event which kick-starts the 25th Nigerian Economic Summit comes up on the 6th of October 2019 and is geared towards "Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises" (MSMEs) from all over Nigeria.

The final 10 startups will take part in a 1-week bootcamp in conjunction with the GreenHouse Lab accelerator. During the bootcamp, they will receive tailored pitch coaching and mentorship.

The Startup Pitch Competition will be the culmination of the weeklong bootcamp, after which the 10 finalists will have the opportunity to present their startup to a curated audience of distinguished members of Nigeria’s private sector, including investors, accelerators/incubators, entrepreneurs, development agencies, government agencies, and corporate leaders.

Top 3 winners will win cash prizes ranging from US$2,500 to US$15,000 and all Finalists will receive ongoing support from NES and its partners through the NESG Innovation Fund.

ELIGIBILITY

Applications will be open to businesses:

Registered in Nigeria with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and doing business for no more than five (5) years; and